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Fire protection budget practices are under review
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CopyFinance Chief Dave Gray has given himself a deadline for reforming Eastside Fire & Rescue's budget process: 2011.
At the Feb. 11 meeting, Gray said Eastside Fire & Rescue's board of directors would get a chance to review how his staff constructs the budget, with a new process in place sometime in 2011. The process would impact the 2012 budget.
Gray also told the board that his staff would be working on a five-year budget forecast.
Gray's most recent report follows a Jan. 14 meeting, where he informed the board that he was working on making EFR's financial information more accessible.
Efforts to revise EFR's budget process are, in part, a response to discussions at a Jan. 9 meeting, where representatives from Issaquah and Sammamish asked for better information regarding the EFR budget.
EFR provides emergency medical response and fire protection to local residents in Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend, Carnation, Preston, May Valley, Tiger Mountain and Wilderness Rim.
An eight-person board of directors with representatives from Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend and two King County Fire Districts make policy decisions for EFR.
When the 2010 budget came before the EFR board in late 2009, some Sammamish representatives complained that the process itself was flawed.
The board approved its anticipated revenues in November, but waited until December before approving the expense side.
The result was an approved Dec. 8 budget that was out of balance, with spending exceeding funding by about 1.2 percent of the total budget, or $241,000. Eight days later, the local firefighters union found ways to cut costs, avoid layoffs and bring the budget into balance.
During budget talks in 2009, Gray told the board that EFR staff prepared the budget in two parts, so that cities could anticipate how much to allot for fire protection costs and plan their own budgets earlier in the fall.
J.B. Wogan: 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.
Copyright 2010 The Issaquah Press, Issaquah, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.
© 2010 The Issaquah Press Issaquah, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.
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